Corozal – Early this morning, Friday March 8th, 2013 the Corozal Police, BDF personnel, Civil Aviation Authority and other members of law enforcement were dispatched to an area near the Pueblo Viejo Ferry where a Cessna plane suspected of carrying drugs was found in a shallow inner lagoon off the New River with its nose fully submerged. The site is accessible only by boat or a one hour muddy trek hike.

Corozal Police and BDF were able to take note of the registration. We were unable to ascertain if the plane was found with any illegal cargo, pilot or passengers.

The plane is suspected to have plummeted into the lagoon sometime last night. Police continue their investigation and are on high alert at this time.

While rivers in the Cayo District were flocked with canoeing enthusiasts, a lagoon in Corozal was swarmed by Police, BDF and Civil Aviation after a suspected drug plane was found submerged in water. Details are sketchy at this time, but reports are that a Cessna plane has been located in a lagoon near Pueblo Nuevo near the Pueblo Nuevo Ferry. Sources say that they plane went under water, after making a crash landing a few days ago. The plane was found by law enforcement in a nose dive position in the lagoon. As we said, officials have been in the waters conducting investigation, using Seabee beats that were recently donated by a US Fleet team.

PLANE CRASH SITE IS CORDONED OFF AS A CRIME SCENE

On March 8th, we reported that a Cessna plane had plunged into the Pueblo Nuevo lagoon in the Corozal District. BDF and Corozal Police have cordoned off the crash site and treating it as a crime scene.

Official report is that on Friday March 8th, 2013 Corozal Police and Belize Special Assignment Group conducted a searched for an air plane that had crash landed in the Pueblo Nuevo area Corozal District. On that date at about 2:00 P.M. they found a white air plane with blue and gold stripes CESSNA brand, single engine with mark XB-LGX (5) seater with its wheels up in a lagoon. The plane was located about one mile south of the Pueblo Viejo ferry and about a mile and a half west of the New River. Nothing or no-one was found in the plane or in the area. Police investigations continue.
BDF and Corozal Police have been standing guard and on high alert.

One eye witness accounts that early Friday night March 1st a plane was heard flying over the Pueblo Nuevo ferry and shortly after a loud crashing noise was heard and the airplane’s engine could no longer be heard thereafter.

Official report released on partially submerged plane in Corozal

Last Friday we reported that a small plane had plunged into the Pueblo Nuevo Lagoon which is located on the outskirts of Corozal Town. The plane was belly-up and partially submerged in the water, but it wasn’t until today that an official release was sent to the media. Police say that the plane was found at two p.m. on Friday, but reports are that it went down days before. The release confirms that the plane is a CESSNA model with markings XB-LGX. The specific location is given as one mile south of the Pueblo Viejo ferry and about a mile and a half west of the New River. The plane was stripped clean and nothing or nobody was found in or near it. Unofficial reports to us say that recently there has been unusual financial activity in villages near where the plane went down. While speculation naturally points to drug trafficking, the official report doesn’t even mention the word drugs.

More On Plane Crash; Was It For Drugs?

Last week Friday we were one of the few media houses to report on a plane that crash landed in the shallow inner lagoon off the New River near the Pueblo Viejo Ferry. At the time of the report details were still sketchy and tonight not much has changed except that the Belize Police Department has issued an official report on the situation. Reports are that on Friday March 8th Corozal Police and Belize Special Assignment Group were deployed to the area in search of the small aircraft. Police found the white single engine Cessna brand airplane with blue and gold stripes, with markings of “XB-LGX” at about 2:00pm. The five seater plane was found with its two wheels in the air about one mile south of the Pueblo Viejo ferry and about a mile and a half west of the New River. Reports also suggest that authorities found nothing incriminating inside the plane or near the area for that matter. As for the pilot, passenger or passengers they were no where to be found. Since the aircraft landed in a dense and swampy area authorities have been unable to pull it out of the lagoon and tonight it remains under heavy guard.

This morning CTV3 News contacted Nigel Carter of the Civil Aviation Authority who told us that the exact timing and date that the plane crash landed is not yet known. However, one eye witness accounts that early on Friday March 1st a plane was heard flying over the Pueblo Nuevo Ferry and shortly after a loud crashing noise was heard. At that same instance the aircraft’s engine was no longer heard. These Cessna brand aircraft’s are commonly used for carrying drugs and in order to accommodate the cargo the seats are usually extracted from the aircraft. But according to Carter, this was not the case with this particular plane since all the seats were in place. Police investigations continue.